...I forgot to upload this here...
SO You get two chapters at once.
After a few minutes of awkward silence Barry lifted his eyes from his half empty plate, "…Uh… Sorry, I'm… I'm not talking… I guess I'm not really used to having such quiet guests."
Hartley smiled, playing with his food, "I'm just happy to have a well cooked, hot meal."
Barry nodded, smiling gently, "I should expect so…. You know… I know a man in a similar situation to yours."
Hartley lifted an eyebrow, "Oh?" What did this man know about him, so much so that he could readily judge him.
Or did he simply mean 'another homeless man'?
Barry nodded, "I mean… it's obvious that you've not been out there that long, less than 2 weeks. D-Did you lose your job or something?"
Hartley lifted a hand and ran it through his hair, "Of sorts. I don't really see why, uh, why that would make any difference to anything."
Hartley could feel himself tensing up, did he know? This guy, did he know who he was?
No, he couldn't.
"Well, I know someone who was in a similar situation, he went to this place and they gave him work, now he has his house back and everything."
Oh god, was this guy a pimp or something? Had Hartley misjudged him that badly?
"W-What?" Hartley said gently, feeling himself tense.
"He works with me now. I'm in the police by the way, a forensic scientist."
Hartley tensed moreso, that was worse, that meant the guy did know who he was. Oh shit, he knew, he was going to turn him in, that's why he'd brought him here.
He swiftly got to his feet, suddenly unsure of himself, of what he was doing here, of why he had agreed, of everything.
Barry's face contorted with confusion, "W…Where are you going? Are you ok?"
Hartley nodded, swallowing hard.
"I-I'm sorry," Hartley started, "I don't know why I agreed to come here… I hope I didn't put you out of your way or anything I-"
He turned his head back to bid the man goodbye, to see that he had moved from his place across the table, and was now less than two steps from him.
God that man was fast, Hartley hadn't even heard him.
"-R-Really should…"
"Don't," Barry said softly, extending his hand to grab Hartley by the wrist, "Please."
He hated the idea that his partially reformed nemesis might be forced back into crime as a result of his homelessness. He was so close. He just needed an extra nudge.
Maybe if he realised that there were still good people in the world, people who he could count on in his darkest times, then he could be pushed over.
Hartley swallowed hard, his heart suddenly rising in his throat.
This man… he wasn't a rapist, or… bad, in any nature.
Or at least, he didn't seem it, he didn't feel it.
His grip was soft, Hartley could easily break it. It wasn't forcing him, simply encouraging, pleading almost.
Piper looked into Barry's eyes, they seemed so familiar. They had the same softness as the man's touch.
"You've not finished your food," the man continued, releasing his hand.
Hartley nodded awkwardly, and sat back at the table.
Barry sat and continued eating his food, looking up sporadically at Hartley, watching the man eat. He noticed a slight blush coming to the man's face, and let a small smile come to his face. "What's the matter?" he asked gently.
Hartley shrugged, "I just… don't get it."
Barry frowned, "What?"
Hartley sighed, he could still feel his heart in his throat and he didn't know why, "Why you're being so nice to me. I could be a thief or a murderer for all you know."
Barry scoffed, "Nah, I'd be able to tell if you were, you don't seem like the type."
Hartley suppressed his smile, had he really got so good at repressing himself that he exuded that which he was not…? "I suppose so," he said gently, trying to hide his smugness.
"You… I dunno, seem like someone I could trust," Barry continued, although it seemed it didn't really need to be said.
Hartley smiled, blushing a little more and eating the last scraps of food from his plate, leaving him relatively full.
He stared down at his plate, unsure of what to do now, Barry had almost finished, he could just wait for him to finish, but in the meantime he'd have to sit there awkwardly, watching the man eat his food.
Barry noticed, a small smile appearing on his face as he looked at Hartley's empty plate, "Uh, there's a dishwasher in the kitchen, it's the big black thing."
Hartley nodded thankfully and got to his feet, resting one hand on the back of his chair and picking up his empty plate with the other, flashing a small smile at Barry as he did. He turned quickly and walked into the kitchen; sleek modern with hints of classic décor.
It really was rather beautiful. Now that Hartley wasn't afraid of the other man, he felt freer, able to look around the place without fear.
He placed his plate in the dishwasher, and began to look around. His eyes fell on an ornament on the windowsill, it…
That was one of his flutes…
Mounted on a small wooden block.
He picked it up and held it in his hands, it was definitely one of his, it had his insignia on it.
He jolted slightly, almost dropping the flute, as he heard a voice behind him, "I found that, in a charity shop, a couple of months ago. It's gorgeous don't you think?"
Hartley swallowed his smile, "Yeah, it's… gorgeous," he held the thing in his hand, it was one of his older ones, he'd lost it years ago."
"It belonged to the Pied Piper, I believe. Sophisticated tech, I'm impressed," Barry said, smiling gently, he knew who he was talking to, and… he did admire Hartley's knack for technology, he'd simply never been able to say so.
Hartley smiled inwardly, and placed the flute back on its stand, it was nice to know that someone admired him, even a little. "Don't you think he might break in and steal it back?"
Barry smiled gently, "If he wanted it back he would'a taken it before now."
Hartley smiled, showing his teeth a little, that was true; he did love this flute, but it was old, one he would have hardly used anyway.
Barry leant over to fix the flute's place on the stand, accidently brushing against Hartley as he did so. Hartley felt himself flush at the contact, and swallowed gently.
"Do you want to come and watch TV with me or something…?" Barry asked softly, still smiling sweetly at the ginger haired man.
Hartley stood, unsure of what to say, he didn't usually watch TV, at all, but he didn't want to quash the hospitality that this man was showing him.
After a while he responded with a simple "Uh, yeah, sure."
Great, this would lead to several hours of complete boredom for Hartley while Barry sat and laughed senselessly at coloured pictures on a box.
But then, Barry seemed like an intelligent man, maybe he had some books in there, and Hartley could sneak a look at them while Barry dulled his mind.
The man led Hartley into the olden style living room, and Hartley looked around curiously, looking for books. There was a large bookcase in the corner, half filled with books and half filled with dvd's of classic films.
Barry seemed like a stand up guy, from what Hartley could tell of his belongings.
Though… he was quite sure that music box had belonged to Trickster, and Doctor Alchemy formerly owned that flask.
Was he a collector of villain's weapons?
Maybe he hated the Flash too.
…Maybe that's why he'd brought Hartley here.
Because he knew who Hartley was and wanted to 'collect' him or something. Or maybe he had a plan against Flash and needed Hartley to help him with it.
The latter was more likely.
Hartley wondered over to the shelf of books, browsing over it.
"B-Be careful," Barry said as Hartley ran his long finger over the spine of one of the books. "Some of those are first edition."
Hartley nodded, smiling gently; someone who was as fond of the classics as he was, "Of course."
Barry sat on the sofa and turned on the tv, "Go ahead and read if you like, it's just there's this thing about reforming criminals that I'm supposed to watch."
Hartley stilled slightly, his hand still hovering over the books. What if there was something about him on there? There usually was on programmes like that, asking if the villainous Piper could be changed.
They always assumed he would be the first to change, said the morals he showed would be easier to morph into something 'good-like' at least. "Why do you need to watch it…?"
Barry shrugged, "Coz the guys will pick on me if I don't. I get enough flack there without provoking it."
Hartley smiled, "Yeah? I used to get the same from my colleagues."
"Oh?"
Hartley didn't really know why he was explaining it, or if knowing it would make the other man freak out, but, he was who he was, and he wouldn't deny it to anyone anymore, "Being gay in my line of work… it isn't exactly normal."
Barry, much to Hartley's surprise, didn't seem at all startled by the revelation. "Homophobes? That must have sucked."
Hartley nodded, taking one of the books, it was one he had owned, and had been part way through reading. "Well, they weren't really homophobic, they just… picked on me for it. Made jokes and stuff."
"That must have been awful, at least I'm picked on for what I do, not who I am," Barry had an odd tone in his voice, not pity, something similar, like a mix of pity and care.
The man suddenly looked between Hartley and the chair opposite him, "Uh, take a seat."
Hartley smiled and nodded, taking a seat on the black leather chair.
Through out the course of the programme Hartley's eyes did lift from his book, a smirk forming on his lips as he saw a fuzzy picture and a detailed, inaccurate, description of himself come onto the TV.
Barry shook his head and flipped off the TV, "That's enough of that."
Hartley frowned, "Why?"
"Well," Barry said with a shrug, "Once Piper is mentioned on these programmes everything starts to fall to speculation." It was true; these programmes started as fact but quickly fell to 'what if's', Hartley always found it hilarious.
"It's half ten," Barry said, checking the dark wooden clock on the wall, "and we've got to be up at 6… Do you want me to show you to your room? You don't have to go to bed if you don't want to, I'll just ask that you keep the noise down."
Hartley nodded, getting to his feet as Barry did, and following the man down the short hall, stopping at a door. Barry pushed open the soft wood, letting Hartley enter the small room first.
Barr watched as Hartley looked around; the room was painted a gentle blue-green, a single bed, a pale-painted desk, and an entire wall of books.
There were so many.
Hartley smiled widely; these could keep him entertained for a few weeks.
"I know it's kinda small, but, I want you to feel comfortable here, until you're back on your feet. You can come and go as you please. Just, be civil, please."
Anyone else would never do this for someone like Piper, and Barry had been reluctant at first. But it wasn't as if this place had anything important in it anymore. Barry really did trust that Hartley wouldn't do anything to brash, not if he had no where else to go, not if he knew he had no where else, no one else.
He wasn't stupid enough to throw away the opportunity that Barry was allowing him.
"I'm going to bed, I'll come in to wake you in the morning."
With that the blonde haired man left the room, Hartley listened to him walk away, then began to move about the room.
It was so nice here.
And he still couldn't figure out why the smartly-dressed man was being so pleasant to him. Any one else would have left him in the cold to die.
He looked at the rows of books, and picked one off the shelf, settling himself on the bed. In the warm, nice book, nice bed.
What had he done to deserve this?
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